TYLER - The multifamily occupancy rate for first quarter 2014 was 89.5 percent — a 1.6 percentage point increase from 4Q 2013, according to a Tyler area rental survey produced by the Tyler Apartment Association.

Although the 1Q 2014 rate is higher than the second, third and fourth quarters of 2013, it is still not as high as 1Q 2013, when the occupancy rate was 90.9 percent.

Data from survey, in which about 60 properties participated, shows that the average rent for a one-bedroom in 1Q 2014 in Tyler was $679, while the average rate for a two-bedroom was $834.

Occupancy drops during the summer months at some properties due to students moving out at the end of May, and first-quarter numbers are typically higher because people tend to not move around the holidays, according to Tyler Apartment Association President Sandey Coker.